TMC Team

It’s no secret that both Microsoft and Google are looking at white spaces and Super WiFi as an area of growth allowing inexpensive broadband wireless signals to be transmitted over long distances.

But technology is difficult to predict – we didn’t know for sure tablets were going to cannibalize PC sales but they are and we didn’t know small, cheap hard drives were going to cut the legs out from the large, expensive hard drive market. You may know that in 1997 when I went to COMDEX and told the world TMC was going to launch a magazine called Internet Telephony – people laughed and told me it wasn’t an industry.

AT TMC, we painstakingly attempt to ensure you know as much about the participating companies at our events as possible before the conference so you can get a sense of who is there, where there expertise lies and if they may have something of value to offer you as you look to make purchasing decisions in the world of technology and communications. As a result we survey ITEXPO speakers and exhibitors before the event and ask questions which can help you connect with thought leaders you believe might be of assistance at the event.

Not everyone answers but we do send the questions to hundreds of companies and they seem to trickle in each day. Here is the list of people and companies who responded to my questions and links to their answers. I truly hope you find it useful.

You know I would never stoop to reminding you about the weather to persuade you to attend what I believe to the be the best tech and telecom conference in the world - OK, maybe I would.

So I was driving along this morning on the way to work and noticed I couldn't feel any of my fingers. I decided to check to make sure I was wearing gloves. I was. Then I realized I couldn't feel any of my toes and yes I had shoes on.

Just a note to let you know the hashtag for ITEXPO on Twitter will simply be #ITEXPO. You will see enhanced levels of twitter messaging at the show (Twitter stream at keynotes for example) allowing the ITEXPO and related technology and communications communities to stay connected.

A good way to keep track of news from the show is to set up a column with search terms ITEXPO and/or #ITEXPO in programs such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and/or your mobile Twitter app.

The show officially begins in nine days and here are some links you may find useful:

I was just interviewed on a podcast by Peter Radizeski who in addition to being a TMC blogger is an expert on the telecom channel and a sought out social media and marketing consultant. On the online community building and SEO podcast we discussed not only how to improve search rank but how to select keywords and use call to action to ensure success. We also had a chance to discuss TMC’s online communities which are news-generated and help our sponsors with their branding, thought leadership, social networking and lead generation. I Hope you like it.

The show directory/guide for ITEXPO East 2011 in Miami is now available as is the agenda at a glance or schedule summary. The one point you should be aware of is that former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was added after this guide was printed and the PDF has not been updated as of yet. Some times on the schedule have shifted as a result and at some point soon we update schedules online.

In addition, I want to point out that you can win a Jeep at the show as well as other great gadgets.

Finally - we added an all-conference party at Mango's Cafe - one of the most popular night spots on South Beach.

For years, Ingate has run a very successful conference as part of ITEXPO the SIP Trunk-Unified Communications Summit and this year the evnt is bigger than ever according to the company. This highly popular educational series, free to all ITEXPO attendees and attendees will hear from Aastra, ShoreTel and Broadvox, as well as Bandwidth.com, Commetrex, EarthLink Business, FaxCore, Intertex Data AB, Qwest Business, SIP Forum, the Unified Communications Interoperability Forum (UCIF) and VOIPSA.

Additionally, Unwired Revolution will present a case study on SIP: Unifying the Distributed Workforce. Service provider Telia and Intertex Data AB will discuss their SIP trunk implementation as a case study.

One of the great advantages of attending a live conference is the ability to network with some of the brightest minds in the industry such as analysts and other industry thought leaders who help give us a sense of where markets are heading. The tech space is not slowing down from an innovation perspective – and it certainly isn’t going to see less product introductions in the future. How do you determine how the latest products and solutions can help your business? Is the cloud right for you or is an on-premise system a smarter move based on your security and compliance needs?

For those of you who attended the ITEXPO and related events last year in Miami, you remember it was a very strong show with great attendance. The conference usually draws from all over the world – especially Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Central and Eastern US and of course Canada.

The even better news about this upcoming event Feb 2-4, 2011 at the Miami Beach Convention center is the numbers are trending much better than last year. My marketing team just sent over the comparable stats and here they are: